Laboratory Animals

We're told that over 18,000 procedures on guinea pigs last year were classed as 'non-recovery'. But what was done to those guinea pigs that was so invasive they were killed while under general anaesthetic? We will never know.

We want to see a debate framed in terms of what is happening now, not whether the use of animals led to a scientific discovery or progress eighty or a hundred years ago. Science, technology, and concern for animals have all evolved significantly since then, and the debate must too. Why is a specific animal 'model' or study thought relevant or valid now?

It has become fashionable in the animal experiments industry to say that they want greater transparency. After decades of saying as little as possible and hoping that public concern would just go away, researchers have publicly stated that they would like to engage with the public...

The public has a right to know what is being done to animals in laboratories up and down the country and one way that can happen is by lifting the curtain of secrecy which has hidden animal suffering and human incompetence for far too long.

The benefits for animals are very significant - anyone who is aware of the infamous Draize Eye test that forces shampoo into rabbits' eyes over several days will appreciate that change was overdue, especially as the non-animal alternative tests often have a better predictive value for actual human reactions.

The use and suffering of animals in experiments is a persistent and legitimate public concern. Both the government and the scientific community have recently set up initiatives that attempt to convince a sceptical public that their concerns are understood and taken seriously.